Moscow Just Had the Heaviest Snowfall It's Seen in 100 Years

Winters in Russia are pretty harsh, but winter 2018 has been shaping up to be the harshest some Russians have ever seen.

City officials in Moscow have reported 45 centimeters (over 17 inches) of snow from Saturday to Monday — 20-percent more than the average snowfall for the city in one month, Irish outlet RTE reported. One city weather station, Tochenova, measured the accumulation at 55 centimeters (over 21 inches) right outside their studio.

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The massive accumulation is the heaviest snowfall the city has seen in more than 100 years. It’s also the most snowfall that has been seen within a 24-hour period since 1957, according to Accuweather.

Record snowfall in Moscow, Russia, has forced flights to cancel, thousands of customers to lose power and even has shut down area schools. It's the most snowfall the city has seen in a 24-hour period, since 1957. pic.twitter.com/fd8r1i9s1i

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told journalists at RIA Novosti news agency that the historic snowfall has toppled more than 2,000 trees but “nevertheless there has been no collapse or catastrophe,” as reported by RTE.

Sobyanin mentioned on social media that one person was killed from a falling tree that hit a power line.

The city announced that children did not need to come to school considering the weather conditions, though schools would stay open. RTE reported that Russian schools only closed when temperatures dip to extreme lows.

Similarly, transportation services would only be made available in cases of “extreme need.” The city is struggling to clear the roads, plus there is the extra hazard of black ice. The airport is also experiencing several cancelled flights and delays.

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Snow is not something that interrupts the day-to-day business of Muscovites, which only speaks to how severe the last four days must have been. However, despite some frustrations, the city’s power, heat and transportation services have been largely unaffected, according to Channel News Asia.

Heavy snowfall has hit much of Europe, as well as the eastern U.S. this winter. We can bet there are a lot of people hoping for an early spring.